The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-01-20
A CURIOUS MANuFAcToRY.
Visit to q Place in Paris Where skele-
tons Are Made-Ghastlv Del,ris

Visit to Place in Paris Where skele-
tons Arc Made-Ghastly Debris.
The other day being in Paris it oc-
CURED to me that it would be an excel
lent opportunity of obtaining some really.
good astrological preparations which l
had heard were to be had at more
reasonable figure than the fancy prices
asked for them in England. One day
while assisting at the clinique of we'll
known physician, one of the patients on
being asked her profession said she
"depiotait les squelettes, which @, in
quiry / ascertained to mean bone
peeler." at once interested myself in
her condition, which was one of chloro-
sis, and ingratiated myself with her so
that week or two later she acceded.
though reluctantly. to my request, to
take me to the fabrique where the speci-
mems were prepared. 1t was long
journey, right away into one of the des-
ert plains bristling with chimney stacks
which bound Paris on the north side
The building to which she conducted me
was an immense wooden construction,
subdivided into main atelier and out
houses. The larger room was occupied
by series of large cauldrons, the en-
anations from which were, even to one
accustomed to the suave odor of the dis
secting-room, nauseating in the extreme,
and the blend formed with that OF vari-
GUS crude antiseptics was more peculiar
than fascinating
The disarticulation of skulls is carried
on separately, as it is branch requiring
greater skill and nicely in its manipula-
ton. 1t is effected on the skulls of
young adults or children by the ingeni-
GUS plan of filling the emptied cranial
cavity with dried peas, which are then
stepped in water, and in swelling compel
the disjunction more delicately than
could be done in any other way. Some
of the cauldrons contained the bodies of
animals whose skeletons, if not as valua-
BILE as those of human beings, are still in
dispensable for the study of natural his
tory, and are forwarded in large num-
bers to the various collegiate establish
ments in France and abroad. After a
prolonged boiling the limbs are placed
on table and the adhering tissues care
fully removed, each workman or work
woman having his or her own speciality.
saw some men at work on frogs, liz
ards etc., to obtain a satisfactory prep
aration of which requires a special and
highly remunerated dexterity. The
grease which collected at the top of the
vats was scooped off and consigned to a
receptacle in the corner of the room, but
its ultimate destination was unable to
ascertain.
The bones are then bleached, the
cheaper varieties simply by means of
chloride of lime, the better ones in the
sun, and they ultimately pass into the
finishing room, where they are titivated,
assorted and converted, as far as may
be, into "articulated skeletons" 1t re-
quires no small amount of ingenuity and
knowledge of this particular department
| to be able to choose out of the miscel-
laneous collection of bones wherewith
to construct skeleton which shall pass
muster for that of single individual,
and only the best bones are so adapted,
the remainder going to make up the dis
articulated and half skeletons which
have to answer the purpose of study for
the more economically disposed students.
Curiously enough, the sex appeared to
have distinct influence on the value of
the skeleton, female skeleton possess
ing value many francs higher than
that of the corresponding male.
In another tank, awaiting treatment,
were number of infant bodies, varying
from minus four months to plus several
days. In the show rooms they were ar
ranged in graduated scale (echelle
montante), from the diminutive little ex-
mortal, whose height did not exceed
four inches, to the adult baby, measur-
ing from eighteen to twenty, all being
in the attitude known in the military
world as that of attention" These
have special value of their own, far
greater in proportion to their size than
that of their bigger brethren. l natu.
rally wondered where all the bodies
came from. was told that the dissect-
ing rooms and hospitals furnished a
large proportion, and that the proprie
tor of the establishment took care to
nonopolize the supply, which was al
ways short of the demand.-London
Medical Press.